Friendly service enhances visits to Sisters Fabrics in Hastings

Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood | The Grand Rapids PressSisters Fabrics owner Virginia “Ginger” Garvey offers personal customer service at her Hastings fabric shop at 218 E. State St. The hours are 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday to Thursday; 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday; and 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday. Closed Sunday.HASTINGS -- While many people were bustling around making last-minute holiday preparations on the day before Christmas, Virginia “Ginger” Garvey was waiting on customers at her fabric shop in downtown Hastings.

When Mildred Chase, 76, of Shelbyville, popped in to buy blue fabric to finish a quilt, Garvey was ready to help. Within minutes, the fabric was cut, and Chase was on her way after an exchange of holiday greetings at the checkout counter.

Speedy and friendly service is key at Sisters Fabrics, 218 E. State St., in Hastings, a small-town family business that has been in operation since 1975.

Garvey, 71, of Rutland Township, doesn’t try to compete with big-box craft stores, but what she does is deliver in the personalized customer service department, offering high-quality fabrics at reasonable prices.

A sewing veteran of more than 50 years, Garvey is an expert at the cutting table.

“I have five sisters and five brothers,” Garvey said, explaining that “sewing was a necessity” in her day.

She still makes her own clothes, including lovely cotton dresses, and can offer sound advice about how you can make yours, too.

“I don’t buy anything,” she said about her resistance to buying clothing. “I’m an unusual person that way.”

Garvey said it’s often challenging for “the older generation” to find suitable patterns because many are “geared to teenagers and a lot of them are immodest. And a lot of the clothing on the rack doesn’t fit us anyways.”

The same goes for many of us younger folks. How many pairs of jeans do you have to try on before you resign yourself to going home with a pair that sort of fits? I rest my case.

While some may consider Garvey’s commitment to a handmade wardrobe old-fashioned, her approach is in vogue. Thanks to the DIY movement, it’s quite trendy to sew your own clothes. And, given her vast sewing experience, Garvey can sew clothes that don’t look homemade. This is a skill I’m still working on.

When I first visited her shop last summer, Garvey offered an impromptu hand-quilting demonstration after I complimented her on the impressive hand-stitched cathedral window quilt she has hanging on the back wall. She quickly retrieved step-outs of the quilting process from a drawer to show me.

Learning how to make this quilt is reason enough to visit Garvey’s shop. (She shares this information for free.)

I visited Garvey’s shop again on the way to a family Christmas party on Christmas Eve. Garvey shared a bit about the business’ history.

The shop used to offer an in-house tailoring service, but Garvey stays too busy to sew for others now. However, she does offer drop-off and pick-up for alteration and dry cleaning services that are contracted out.

Garvey, who raised three sons, plans to remain a resource to customers who need help selecting fabric and interpreting patterns.

“I enjoy meeting the people,” she said, explaining what motivates her to keep coming to work.

Garvey runs the business with help from her sister, Janet Conklin, who started the business, and a sister-in-law. Garvey can’t afford to offer the deep discounts that are the norm at big-box craft stores, but she does run sales. And, often, the experience of shopping at an independent retailer is worth paying a little more. The fabric is high quality and the handwritten receipt keeps things low-tech.

As a crafter who spends a lot of time in front of a computer, I really dig getting back to basics when it comes to customer service.